North American digital asset miner Hut 8 has commenced the construction of a new mining facility in Culberson County, Texas, marking its fifth mining location in the United States. The facility is expected to be operational and online for miners by the second quarter of 2024.
Hut 8 anticipates that it will be able to mine Bitcoin (BTC) at a 30% lower cost compared to its other sites in Texas and Nebraska, as stated in a press release. The CEO of Hut 8, Asher Genoot, also mentioned that the expenses involved in setting up the new facility were significantly lower.
In December 2023, Hut 8 and US Bitcoin Corp. merged to establish a new company. Following the merger worth $725 million, the company resumed its operations under the name Hut 8. It is now a U.S.-based corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida.
Despite the company’s expansion efforts, Hut 8 is currently facing challenges. It was recently accused by JCapital Research of engaging in a “pump and dump” scheme. JCapital Research, a firm that specializes in short-selling for profit, claimed that Hut 8 manipulated the market. In response, Hut 8 dismissed JCapital’s allegations, referring to them as biased activists seeking personal gains from the decline in the company’s share price.
Furthermore, Hut 8 is involved in a class-action lawsuit that alleges the company made false statements and failed to disclose important information. The lawsuit claims that one of the major shareholders of US Bitcoin Corp. was undisclosed, and that the core asset of US Bitcoin Corp. had a history of not providing reliable energy and high-speed internet. Additionally, the profitability of certain assets of US Bitcoin Corp. was supposedly overstated.
Update 12:55 PST 2/27: The article has been modified to reflect that only one class action suit has been filed.